The Whirling Tide V2
by waterhendemon
Summary: One year. A lot can happen in that time. From strange looking orange eye-sore to the most prominent trafficker in Gotham and connections beyond the city. How did it all happen? (Rewritten because of pacing issue with new outline)
1. Chapter 1

** Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the DC properties.**

** Prologue**

Walking through alleyways one can learn all sorts of things if they're willing to open their ears.

Take for example the fact that the Bat and his associates have been on a war-path of sorts. Everyone that has ears in places has been hit for information on a man wearing a white grinning fox mask with thin, slanted eye-holes and a orange wavy design over the mouth, a etching of a stylized leaf with a scratch through it on the forehead. Black full-bodysuit with grey flak-jacket, metal shoulder and arm guards, three small equipment pouches on his back-waist, two medium sized ones strapped to each leg, and a sword strapped to his back under a bright orange hooded cloak. Word was he almost killed Robin and Batgirl in their first meeting.

After one month, the only information they had on him was that he preferred to use kunai and shuriken for distance, his sword, a jian, use for groups of enemies, and a hand-to-hand fighting style used to maim or kill his opponents. He was also recorded all over the city at the same time. Glimpses of orange streaking along rooftops from shootouts ended in bloodbaths.

Month two saw rumours of a new gang starting up called The Whirling Tide. It started small enough. Home invasions, muggings, small-time drug trafficking, and car-jacking. Mostly made up of orphan children and teens that roam Old Gotham and the East End. Few confirmed sighting of the man are made in the city during that period and the next few months.

Months three to eight saw a slow increase of The Whirling Tide's notoriety, making a name for themselves as reliable drug and gunrunners for all the small-time gangs. Expanding into Robinson Park and absorbing all street gangs in the way cemented their place in the underworld.

In month nine the masked man was revealed to be in charge of The Whirling Tide. Calling himself Kyuubi, but known by his men respectfully as Hokage, he leads The Whirling Tide against the Black Mask's gun and drug trade. Over the past few months, he had developed personal and business relationships with people outside of the city that had no ties to The Whirling Tide. The month ends in a near successful assassination attempt of Black Mask by Kyuubi himself that left Black Mask in a coma.

The Whirling Tide soon took over all weapon and drug running in Gotham from the Penguin in month ten.

The next two months are spent shoring up their territory and clientele with Kyuubi earning a reputation of fighting and winning over the Bat-family. Assassinations and exterminations became the norm for their dealings with rivals trying to get in on their business.

So it was little wonder the Bat would be out looking for information on Kyuubi. The only problem was that by the time the Bat knew to look for him, no one with useful information had been able to talk because of strange markings found on their tongues.

They would talk, just nothing not already well known about The Whirling Tide or Kyuubi.

So it was with a smile a totally anonymous blonde, whisker marked, twenty-three year old walked, slight spring to his step, thinking about his past year.

**A.N: When I had lost the memory stick that I saved all the information for the story on, I had only the finished chapters on my computers harddrive and what was posted to the site. After reading through the story, I had made a new outline before starting on what will be the fourth chapter and was nearly done when I noticed that the pacing of the story was off compared to the earlier chapters. I went back over the finished chapters to edit them to correct the mistakes and add more information on the formation of The Whirling Tide gang aside of the small scrapes I have there now so that their skills make sense. I will be deleting that version of the story when I post part 2 of Month Two on this one.**

** The over all information will still be the same since I just fixed minor things and added new scenes in some places. Some things from this Naruto's past will be explained in the next chapter, but as I'm still fully fleshing that out, he will still have amnesia and might not fully recover his memories during the events of the story. Doing that for a possible prequel of that time period. The events in the manga with still have happened with some of the filler added, only modified to fit with this Naruto's past experiences since I have never watched past the Chunin Invasion Arc of the anime when it first aired on YTV. Stopped watching to read the manga instead after some of the fillers.**

** Anyways, so far this and Day One are set. My schedule willing, the rest will be done soon. Most of the stuff about his past in the next few chapters has also already been decided on by me. Anyone willing to beta, either say in a review or PM me. **

** If you have jutsu suggestions, futon and doton are preferable for high rankings. The other elements are fine as long as you have them being low level ones able to be overloaded to a higher ranking. Having both English and Japanese name will help me pick any suggestions. Just leave a review or PM me. **

** As stated before, I will be making this an AU for both Naruto and the DC Universe.**

** I will be using the manga, some episodes of filler, and a movie or two to form most of the background of the Naruto universe. **

** The DC Animated Universe, Young Justice, Teen Titans, The Batman, the DC Animated Original Movies Universe(mostly for future chapters and to tie it together somehow), and the DC wiki will provide some of that background.**


	2. Day One

**I do not own Naruto nor any DC character. They are owned by there respective owner.**

**Chapter One – Day One**

The moon hung in the sky illuminating the field with it's faint light. The clash of swords creating a dull symphony of battle centring around a blur of orange. The enemy couldn't use their more destructive of jutsu for fear of hitting an ally. But the orange blur had no allies, so he was using his more wide-scale futon and doton jutsu to attack his enemies. Barrelling thru a crowd of A and S-ranked shinobi of various villages, he never looked back as he put distance between them as he already knew what kind of damage his 'adequate' chakra control unleash.

As a dozen Kiri nin managed to throw up Kirigakure no Jutsu that covered fifteen miles of land and the shinobi of Iwa spreading out making various mile long, fifty foot tall walls to either box him in or force him to jump over and make searching easier. The Konoha and Suna nin began searching the mist covered forest for any sign of their prey while the Kumo nin maintained the twenty square mile area lock-down. The minor villages shinobi were either searching the forest, manning the walls created, or manning the perimeter. The man, avoiding them all with difficulty, thought about the events that brought him here.

* * *

_It had started with a long term escort/travelling assistance mission for seafarers exploring the notoriously calm far Eastern Ocean. Simple mission manipulating wind chakra to blow into the sails of the five ship fleet and protecting them from any pirates that might inhabit the area. One year on the ocean manipulating the winds did wonders for his elemental chakra control._

_ Upon his return to the continent a few months behind schedule, he learned that he had a five hundred million ryo bounty of for his capture, two hundred million dead. Planning to get to his home village to find answers since it is they who put the bounty on him._

_ Returning to the outer reaches of the defensive wall, he proceed to go in. Avoiding all patrols and slipping past the village defence seals, he finds the village in chaos. The leader had been killed the week previous after greeting a man who looked like him and welcoming him into her office. A alarm was sounded shortly after as he was making his escape. The man cut through everyone in his way with a weapon that looked like the one he was known to have taken up during his private excursions from the village._

_ Shortly after hearing of that, he was spotted by his former friend and most hated enemy, forcing him to flee with the ANBU Heavy Combat and Combat Assassin Corps. hot on his heels._

_ One month crossing the Nations in the hopes of losing his Konoha pursuers, only for them to be joined in the chase by the other shinobi for similar charges in their villages. Leading them through the most dangerous terrain in a desperate attempt to get a chance to rest until there was no more places to run to. With only death or capture as an option of him, he prepared all kinds of traps. Traps from he learned from his pranks and ANBU training combined to from a hilariously deadly one mile no man's land as his base._

_ For five days they had him trapped in a fifty mile radius. For four days they lost men searching, ambushing or being ambushed, before finally managing to corner him in his base. _

_ The fifth day, the man having enough, using a combination of his more cheaper pranks and one extremely deadly trap, escaped and started a four hour chase followed by a seven hour battle the likes of which not seen since the Forth Shinobi War._

_ The battle was just waves of fifty-to-one hundred fifty shinobi of what ever village could get there fighting back to back. Each time one wave is finished off, another would get through the traps until those were gone._

* * *

Finally managing to get enough distance to stop for a minute just before dawn, he sensed out the chakra signatures around looking for a way to escape. He found a corridor the shinobi were making a point in keeping clear. Figuring it for the trap it was he ran through it at a leisurely pace to regain some of the energy he lost in all of the fights so far.

Stopping before he got to the treeline. He sensed out chakra sources and found the various shinobi circling out wide to make a larger perimeter centring around two, familiar chakra signatures. One of them had the feeling of being close to death pouring off of them.

Walking through the last stretch of forest separating them, he create a few clones to hang back and gather natural energy for a possible fight. An uncomfortable feeling of dread weighed each step forward. Finally making it to the clearing, the feeling turns to a blood burning anger and loss.

The anger is aim at the bastard standing in the centre of the clearing, faintly glowing red eyes visible in the distance. Dressed in armour similar to his ancestor, except coloured black, was Uchiha Sasuke. Sword strapped to the back of his waist.

The loss was for his lover laying dieing at the bastards feet. Her body broken and bleeding profusely from a hole in her chest. Her eyes locked with his as her life finally faded.

As Kurama's chakra pour out of him, tainted red from his feelings of anger and the loss, a clone dispelled, letting him mix the natural energy of sage mode with Kurama's chakra. He charged the Uchiha, forcing him to move away from his lover with multiple Mini Tailed Beast Balls aimed at his head. With one last look at her, he set off to kill the Uchiha or die trying.

The bastard has the decency to lead him away from his lovers body, least it be lost to his rage fuelled destruction. Or was it a consequence of him trying to escape said rage? It didn't matter to him at the moment.

Reaching another wider clearing, the Uchiha turned to fight. Sensing that it would be over in one clash, he prepared his attack by launching several Great Dragon Fire techniques into the air. Now all that is left is to wait for the kill or die by Uzumaki Naruto's hand.

Crashing into the clearing with Sasuke, Naruto stopped. Sensing the chakra used to set up the storm clouds, he grinned as he started pouring out Wind chakra into the air.

As both of them called up their respective signature attack, they add from the environment they set up.

Naruto, with nine different tails of chakra used to stabilize the attack, ordered the last two clones to dispel, overloading him on natural energy. A Big Ball Planetary Rasenshuriken overloaded with his chakra, the Tailed Beasts, the natural energy, and wind chakra was his attack.

Sasuke, manipulating all his chakra, the lighting and Amaterasu to take form in his Chidori in the the hand of his Susanoo's arm.

Once the sky cleared from them leaching the chakra used to form the clouds, they charged with all their remaining power driving them on meeting in a blinding flash.

The sensor shinobi manning the perimeter that felt the highly focused release of energy passed out with some of the more sensitive sensors dieing from the sensory overload. The rest of the shinobi, having felt the release from the attack, scrambled to the location after recovering. When they arrived, they were surprised to find the remains of Uchiha Sasuke in a mile wide, half a mile deep crater. With no sight of Uzumaki Naruto's body, they expanded to search the entire area they were guarding.

* * *

Darkness was the first thing Naruto was aware of for the longest time before a debilitating pain greeted him as his sense of feeling returned. After what felt like an eternity, he looked down and caught sight of a wound that looked like it should have cut him in half. The haze clouding his mind wasn't helping him remember what happened to him. A flash of his enemies face during an attack was accompanied by a wave of anger comes to the forefront of his mind before an overwhelming grief sets in. The events of his life start to flash in front of his minds eye before fading away.

The stares the villagers gave him as he walked the streets when he was younger. Getting kicked out of the orphanage when he started acting out in violence and sent a few kids to the hospital. Meeting the man that had saved him from a mob of parents when he had attacked their children in reprisal for their attacks on him. Following the man that he would see as his Teacher after he had gotten him an apartment and he was taught various things by him and his friends for the next year. Their sponsoring him into the Central Combat Shinobi Academy early when the man that he saw as his Grandfather was unwilling to.

His nomination for early graduation after one year only to fail because of extreme pain that had coursed through his body as he manipulated his chakra. The next years nomination that he also failed because of his perfect chakra control taking a nose dive after the pain. Going through the full term with a class comprised of the children of clan heads, rich merchants, and the orphans that managed to get sponsored before his final failure to graduate because of his chakra control and the events that caused him to graduate.

The first real mission his team went on that became an operational nightmare that gave rise to his way of life. The exams that fractured his first real Friendship with someone not involved in the seedy underworld of Konoha. The death of his Teacher and Grandfather during the Invasion by Suna and Oto. Meeting the two people that would become Family to him. Going out on a training trip with the man that became his Master after Sasuke deserted from Konoha.

Facing off against Akatsuki when he return to the village to save one of his friends. Meeting Sasuke again after three years. Defeating the ancient combat specialist of Akatsuki in single battle. The destruction of his home by the man who had kill his Master and wanted his death. The war that followed because of the other jinchuriki disappearing. The landscape altering battle that finally ended the war that left the orchestrators dead.

Taking up the mantle of ANBU Spymaster from his Master Jiriaya and joining the Hunter-Nin corps. shortly after in an effort to to centre himself after the war. Wandering the lands getting into contact with Jiriaya's information network and sending anything interesting to ANBU operatives. The mission he had taken out to sea.

But it was the first time he had met his lover and his time spent getting to know her that continued to flash before his eyes. Their second encounter years later and the relationship they formed. Those memories took the longest to fade.

Before he finally falls unconscious from his injuries, he noticed multiple swirling orbs of chakra leave his body before they spread out and enveloped him.

* * *

The sudden blinding flash of lightening and boom of thunder brought him back to the land of the living. A few more deafening booms kept him from losing consciousness immediately. Before he could think to move, the pain his body is in overtakes his senses, but he forces his body to remain still. His chest felt the worst with the feeling trailing down the left arm and making breathing difficult. He was so lost in the pain that he didn't hear the first person land near him, or the two that followed shortly after. When he finally did notice them, they were standing around him talking.

The two main voices he heard, both male, were talking in a strange language. From the echo of their voices, they were probably in an alley. The closer of the two, on his right, sounded younger. A third, he felt when he sensed out to his immediate surroundings, was kneeling on his left side. The three of them gave off the aura of experienced genin or chunin.

Extending his sensing abilities out a few meters further, limited as they were by the past month of near nonstop running and combat, to the surrounding area, he primarily heard a mix of people and machinery. What sounded like hundreds of them within the hundred meters he could sense. All of them had less than civilian chakra levels, with the three surrounding him having slightly more than that.

Weighing his options before they did anything, he decided to allow his training to guide him and to let the adrenaline take hold.

With a painful lunge, he attacked the one on the left.

The strike was faster than any of them could follow. One second he was on the ground, bleeding from a nasty chest wound. The next, he had knocked out the one on his left out with hit at the right side of the neck from the pommel of his sword before jumping for the kid in red. All the while a voice is shouting in the background.

Swinging the sword, his strike was redirected away from the neck of his target by a weird shuriken shaped as a bird, but still caught his target across the chest. The wound was not enough to kill him right away, but he will bleed out if left unattended for long. A low sweeping kick followed by a downward punch into the kids chest knocked him off his feet and onto his head, knocking him out.

Jumping back ten feet, he reached for his shuriken pouch, only to be forced to roll right. Pain flares up across his spine, forcing him to visibly wince as he returned to his feet as he prepared to lunge at the apparent leader of the group.

A diagonal slash aimed for his left shoulder with an escrima stick forced him to sidestepped and counter with a straight thrust of his sword at the man's heart.

The man, still talking, twisted around at the last second and only got a light scratch across a blue line on his chest armour. Trying to use the momentum of his twist to go for a double handed strike with the escrima sticks, he never saw the elbow aimed at the back of his head coming.

With a sigh, Naruto stood there, taking in the sight for those he attacked.

The first one he attacked was female. Wearing an armoured tight black full-bodysuit with the image of a yellow bat over her chest, yellow belt with pouches, yellow arm guards and knee high combat boots, complete with cape and cowl with spiked ears that let her hair out.

Red was a dark haired teenage male wearing what appeared to be an unitard-like armoured suit, black marking over his left breast, with green short sleeves and gloves, tight green pants with black boots. Black cape with yellow inner layer and belt with pouches make up the last of attire.

The leader was also a dark haired male. Wearing an armoured black full-bodysuit with a blue line extending from one hand to the other and black domino mask. The body-suit caught his eye by being in about his size. His own armour having been destroyed from all his fights over the previous month along with any replacements he had.

Moving as quickly as he could, he stripped the man of his bodysuit and weapons before preparing to leave when he noticed a notable signature moving in on him. No point fighting their backup. So standing up and throwing the body-suit over his shoulder, he vanished in a puff of smoke as a man dressed like the girl landed in the alley.

* * *

Appearing in a park across a nearby river, Naruto doubled over, ripping his mask off to vomit out blood. He finally had time to fully assess the damage done to his body.

His armour and cloak had the front of it blown out. Underneath that, his skin and muscle was slowly knitting itself back together over his partly exposed ribcage. His left arm hung limp at the shoulder, the bone there was crunching as it rearranged and regrew itself slowly. His legs, burning from using multiple Shunshin to cover the distance, finally gave out on him as he tried to stand. As his back hit the ground, the pain flares up along his spine and tore a strangled scream from him before he could push it down. And to top it all off, he felt extremely weak, so it would be a few days before he recovered from most of his wounds.

Laying on his back looking at the night sky taking deep breathes, he reached for a hidden pouch on his left ankle to pull out his last supply scroll. After unrolling it, he put his hands on two seals arrays and channelled what little chakra he had to them.

After sorting through a pile of supplies to find a blood and chakra pill so that he didn't die of blood loss or chakra exhaustion, he put on his only remaining cloak and mask. The cloak had a black inner layer and orange outer. Deciding to use the black layer while he moved, Naruto pulled it on inside out. The mask was his publicly known Konoha ANBU grinning fox mask with a design reminiscent of Haku's, only orange where his was red. Not the mask he would prefer, but his normal heavy combat mask was to badly broken to last for much longer. Sealing the supplies and body-suit into the scroll, he poured some red powder on all his blood before hurrying away to the northeast as he felt the chakra pill kick in to find a better place to heal his wounds.

As he moved though the park, he finally noticed the the buildings. Forty to seventy feet tall buildings made up the area immediately surrounding the park. Further back, hundred foot and taller skyscrapers made up most of the skyline. Each one was built in a cleaner architecture style than those he could recall seeing before. The tallest one he could see dwarfed those of Ame. The streets had machines moving down them, stopping as the light hanging over the road turned from green to red.

Jumping to the roof tops, he landed in a tumble. Regaining his footing, Naruto ran towards the furthest ledge to build momentum and jumped the gap across a street to the next building.

Moving at a slow, erratic pace, he crossed numerous blocks. Listening to the people walking along the streets speaking the same strange language as those people in costumes, ruling out a coded language. He seen people climbing in and out of the machines on the road and assumed they were transportation of some kind.

Reaching a river, he followed it east towards a bridge. As he made his way he seen people making what appeared to be weapons sales in some alleys, in others mugging and assaults. Every few streets that was happening.

After crossing the bridge and heading back for the rooftops, he continued on his way north. The rate of crime increased. Not stopping, he kept going until he misjudged the distance of the gap between two buildings.

Flying through a open window near the top floor of the building he wanted to land on and slamming into a wall. To tired to move, he sat there, eyes closed and breathing heavily. He was trying, and failing, to maintain consciousness when something smashed into his mask and drove his head into the wall cratering it. He tried retaliating, only to receive another two strikes to his head that knocked him out.

The last thing he remembers seeing was a black cat looking at him.


	3. Month One

**Disclaimer: I don't own no rights to any character used in this story. They are owned by the respective owner of the series.**

"This" and 'this' = Talking and thought

**This** = Technique

**"This"** = News or television

**'This'** = voice over radio or another voice in head

* = doesn't understand the language but will find out off screen

* * *

** Chapter Two – Month One**

** (Week One)**

**(Gotham City)**

The sudden and ferocious wind and thunderstorm put him on edge. A strike to a nearby power substation caused the lights to flicker in the surrounding neighbourhoods. The last time he checked, none of the meteorological reports suggested that there would be clouds in the sky tonight, much less a storm. The last time something like this happened...

Putting the matter to the back of his mind for the moment when the storm dies and power stays on, he turns his attention back to the meeting happening below him. The Joker had escaped from Arkham and went into hiding a few months ago. The people he was currently watching were regular members of Joker's crew that just started getting organized recently. With luck they would lead him to the clown tonight.

An alarm suddenly blared into his ear when the men were climbing into a vehicle headed for wherever Joker wanted them. Blinking in both surprise and to open a diagnostic report for the suit that appeared in the lens of his cowl, he turned in the direction a waypoint appeared.

**'Batgirl's girls down,'** a man's voice said over the radio's new signal as he fully turned in the direction of the waypoint. **'Get back.'**

Jumping off the ledge he was perched on, he dived down to build momentum before his cape hardened into a wing with a flick of his tongue. He was trying to figure out what had taken Batgirl down when what is said next brings his thoughts to whats happening.

**'Robin's down!'** the voice shouted over the radio with worry as another alarm sound.** 'Batman, hurry.'**

"Nightwing, whats happening," Batman questioned in a neutral tone while grabbing the grapnel gun and firing at a ledge after he crossed one block.

**'Found a man in a pool of blood off Trident Street,'** Nightwing responded quickly as he ran across a rooftop. **'Fighting him right now.'**

A third alarm alarmed sounded shortly after that told him that the receiver, Nightwing, had been taken out. Blinking to open a more detailed diagnostic report than Batgirl or Robin's would have about the encounter, he displayed the report on the HUD of his cowl. What he read made him decide to call for the plane to meet him there.

Launching the grapnel at a higher ledge across a street before he reached the edge of the roof, he was reeled towards the the roof at breakneck speed to be launched into the air again. As he covered the next few blocks, he read the suit damage and vitals of the wearer's as well as listening to the encounter from a passive recorder he put on their suits. He was closing on the location when alerts from Nightwing's suit started going off saying the suit was being removed.

Gliding the last few blocks, he reeled himself through the air one last time before bleeding off speed with his cape, he landed on a low roof of the building near the waypoint and ran towards the edge of the building for the alley. Diving down as he reached the ledge, he caught sight four people.

Batgirl was laying against the wall, knocked out based off of the diagnostic report he got earlier, with a pool of drying blood at her feet. Robin was laying on his side across the alley from Batgirl with a pool of blood forming around him. Nightwing was stripped of his suit ten feet from the others. But it was the forth one that held his attention.

Standing over Nightwing with the suit over his right shoulder like a trophy was the attacker. The remains of a white hood covered his head with a badly cracked and chipped lizard mask covering his face. Over his shoulders was his cloak, the front of it that he could see was torn to pieces, revealing a bleeding wound spread across his chest, from under his collarbone down to his belly button. What remained of his armour was hanging from his neck and waist. His arms were covered with a dark metal armour that were both partially destroyed. The left arm hung limply at his side, with the handle of a sword peaking over the right shoulder holding Nightwing's suit in place.

Flaring his cape to stall his descent, he angled to land between Batgirl and the man. As he landed, the man was encased in a cloud of smoke that erupted from him. A rush of wind was heard from inside the smoke.

Rushing to Robin as the smoke cleared revealing the man was gone, he started providing aid. Moving Robin the the rooftop once he had stabilized him to the best of his abilities, he returned to grab Nightwing then Batgirl. Once the plane arrived, he glanced at Nightwing and Batgirl before moving for Robin to carry him into the plane then going back for the other two. As he did that, he set his suit to checked for a signal from one of Nightwing's suit's failsafes and called the car to his location. After getting them loaded into the plane, he sent it back to the cave.

"Alfred, three incoming. Robin's been stabilized, but he still needs aid." he said over the radio.

**'I'll get the supplies ready sir.'** came Alfred's reply.

When the waypoint for Nightwing's suit stopped at South Channel Park, he wasted no time in getting into his car and driving to the location.

The next few minutes were passed in silence as he made his way for the park before the signal disappeared when he reached the bridge. He locked the thoughts of his previous Robin in the back of his mind and put his trust in Alfred's skilled hands.

After arriving at the park, he searched around only to find a powdery blood and mucus mix at the location. So he took samples then made his way back to the cave as dawn approached. He had someone new in the city that made himself a target. Now it's just a matter of finding him.

* * *

Awareness returned in a brief flashes. The first was as a wave of pain from the air being driven out of his lungs by his captor collapsing onto his chest. Probably tried to remove his mask. The security seals would make it so only him or another Konoha shinobi could safely remove it. His hands were tied together, easy to get out of, but he was much too tired and sore to make his escape at that time.

The next few times were blurs, probably from being drugged so who ever it was could treat his wounds and to keep him under, but his ANBU training and his healing factor were enough for him to get his bearings. Feeling that his mask was still on and that there were bandages wrapped around his chest and left arm, he lay in the bed he was tied to, expanding his senses out to feel around him each time. The amount of people entering and exiting his max range, as well as those already in range overwhelmed him and caused him to pass out the first few times. Each time after that, he filtered out those with less than civilian levels to just look for noticeable signatures, like his captor's.

Full awareness happened as the notable signature from the alley entered the building he was in. Eyes snapping open, Naruto accessed his situation before the man could show up.

His body, having healed near fully in the time he was out, was still somewhat tender. His chakra levels were currently levelling out at around chunin strength, which meant that he would probably need another two or three weeks for his chakra levels to return to normal. Looking around the room, he noticed that the walls were bare and had no windows with only a chair and bedside table on his right. His clothes weren't in the room, a small hope on his part, meaning he had to find them and the scrolls he had on him before he could leave.

Removing the bindings tying him to the bed, he cast a genjutsu on a roll of blankets to make it appear that he was still in it, since he couldn't stop the pop from when a clone was created. He then slipped out of the room.

Walking through the hall, invisible thanks to another genjutsu, he passed by his captor. A beautiful black haired woman, about 5'7" tall wearing a sleeveless midriff shirt and short skirt that ended a few inches above her knees that showed off her tight form. He paused as the face of a woman with longer hair imposed itself over hers briefly before he moved on. He'll have time to think about it later.

She was talking with a man, about 6 feet tall, dressed in a more heavily armoured version of the bodysuit he got from Stripe with a bigger belt than what Red had. A bat eared mask and emblem on his chest competed the outfit. Whatever they where saying was not really lost on him. From the woman's expression and her look towards the room, his encounter with the three in the alley was probably the topic. Not knowing the language to understand the conversation, he went on in search of the scroll.

Looking around the other rooms until they left the living room, he couldn't find the scroll laying around in the open or in the drawers hidden from their view. After a few minutes, they walking to the room he woke up in. Moving quicker, he tore through the rooms as quietly as possible, not caring about making a mess. He found the scrolls and clothes, along with a suit that looked like it would fit tight on the woman, in a compartment hidden behind one of the walls just before they left the bedroom carrying the genjutsu body.

As they turned into the room he was in, he dropped both of the genjutsu's so they were looking at him as he bowed. Performing a quick sealless Shunshin, he disappear as a puff of smoke enveloped him.

Appearing in another puff of smoke on a rooftop within sight of their room, he snapped into a sharp turn and ran away to find a place to get dressed properly before they could find him.

Running on the rooftops fast enough to be a blur to anyone who might see him, he cleared the gaps between buildings with ease. It was either two or three hours since sunset or before sunrise, if the moon was correct, but there were less people hanging out in the alleys then he thought there should be. Heading towards the river, he went in search of a suitable place to hold up in temporarily.

After running for about an hour, he finally found such a place. Unsealing the suit he got from Stripe, he started stripping it down to find some wires running through it and hidden pouches full of equipment on the wrists, hips and boots. Sorting through the pouches and taking out the equipment that looked useless, along with taking the wiring out safely, took a few hours, but was worth it to replace the communication setup with his own. While wireless radios were useful, the chakra wave radios he had were a lot more secure to use.

Using the the last of his already made sealing supplies, he added a few minor seals to increase the protection of the suit for his use. While the suit seemed strong, the cut he had put in it wasn't an augmented strike. With the seals added to it, only extreme force or chakra coated weapons should be able to pierce it.

As he was doing all that, he tried to remember what happened to him but couldn't. He remembered lightening and thunder waking him up and three people around him clearly. When he tried remembering further back, all he recalled was running through various landscapes and fighting along with brief flashes of ships and a woman's face. Putting those thoughts aside when he started getting frustrated, he continued on with his work.

Getting dressed in the bodysuit when he was done, Naruto put his cloak on with the orange side displayed. With that done, he left into the dawning day to hunt for information.

* * *

Walking through the docks of the strange city during the noon day, Naruto couldn't help but marvel as all the ships and cranes worked. Containers were being moved to and from the ships with great efficiency while loading trailers connected to larger versions of the machines he seen on the roads. He was lost in the sights until a cry of pain brought him back to the moment.

He found from Jiriaya, a name he that he couldn't place with a face, and his training as an ANBU operative that teens could make great assets in getting the layout of cities, towns, villages or anyplace of interest. So he had searched out groups and found some teens that seemed to fit his criteria. Planning to watch them for a while before approaching them resulted in them being attacked while his attention was on the cranes and equipment further out.

When he made his appearance, he took all of them by surprise by arriving in a ball of smoke. He used the opening to knock out all the attackers with hits to aimed to brake bones, no point in possibly scaring the teens with a bloody rescue.

Turning to face the teens, he found them looking at him. The expressions on their faces was of astonishment, probably from his appearance and the quick work he made of the gang.

The next few minutes result in him learning that he spoke in a combination of languages making it hard for them to understand him. Eventually he handed them a two pound gold nugget and said several times he needed, and had one more nugget, for them to answer some questions because he was new to the city. Needless to say they readily agreed. As they started leading him through the docks towards the city, saying multiple times in a combination of different languages that they needed more help to understand and answer his questions.

From what he could understand from what they did answer, the city was called *Gotham*. Apparently *Gotham* was patrolled at night by *Batman*, with *Batgirl*, *Robin*, and several over Heroes. The armour that he was wearing belonged to *Nightwing*, which they had been amazed to see when he was rescuing them.

Walking through rows of containers, they came across several men holding strange looking objects discretely as others opened several containers and started taking out crates. The kids ducked behind a row of containers and started moving around them. Deciding to follow the kids instead of seeing what the men were unloading, they left the area but he made note to find out more later.

Several blocks and a henge later to avoid suspicion, they arrived at an abandoned looking four story building and entered. Passing several other teens that trailed behind or in front of them as they walked down a flight of stairs and a hall before entering a large room that held several more teens. Dropping the henge with a cloud of smoke caused the teens that hadn't seen him change to tense.

As the leader of the group he followed, Colin, introduced him as Kyuubi, one of three names he remembered being used with or as his in his memories, and showed the others the nugget then started talking to them, more came in. Their eyes drifted over to him when *Nightwing* and *Robin* were mention, shocked expressions on more than a few of their faces. They had then talked about Batman being out looking for someone the pass few nights as soon as the sun was down til it came back up.

Getting some answers for the next two hours leaves Naruto with a very limited knowledge of the local language and a map of places of interest, like gang and police locations. He also works out an agreement to get them to go out an get him more information about the city and other important people. With that set up, he parts with the teens on good terms.

Walking on the rooftop during the late afternoon day, Naruto decided to add minor amounts of wind and fire chakra to his Shunshin as he left to give the teens that followed him something to talk about. He had no idea how his continued use of that would effect what they called him in time.

* * *

Finding something to wear so he could walk around on the streets was surprisingly easy. All he had to do was walk down a few alleys before he had a complete set of clothes from the various people that tried to mug him. He was currently wearing a red hoodie and baggy blue jeans under a heavy black duster and orange lensed sunglasses. He picked the orange ones over the darker tinted ones because they slightly enhanced his sight. The rest of the pockets of the duster were full of different things from the previous owner. Mainly wallets with two steel objects in easy to reach locations. Both of them had wood on the hand grip and guard where the finger goes, but one had the top slide back while the other had a rotating cylinder. Not knowing what they did, he left them in the pockets they had been in. No point drawing more attention to himself than needed.

When Naruto returned to the docks, the men that had been unloading the containers had already left the area. After making a few clones to watch for more of them, he found out that while his chakra levels were around chunin strength, they refilled rather quickly. Leaving the clones at the dock, he went to check out the places marked in the map the teens gave him.

Gotham was alot bigger then any city he remembered being in before. The time he spent walking from place to place had taken the remainder of the day, but he managed to cover half of the major places on the northern island of the city. The police or gangs didn't concern him much because of the limited chakra levels they had. Clearing groups of civilian level opponents was considered a D-rank mission for ANBU and a C or B-rank for most other shinobi ranks.

Arriving at a bullet riddled high rise that had the words *The Fortress* written above it on the map. Seeing as he had been told he could stay here for a few days, he entered the alley next to it and performed a Shunshin when no one was looking. Before arriving on the roof of the building, he sent a pulse of chakra into the ANBU tattoo/seal array to activate the identity protection features. His hair and eye colour changes to black, his skin tone lightens a few shades, the angles of his face changes slightly, and any distinguishable features that he has are covered. Knocking on the door in the rhythm he was told to, he was suddenly caught up by the memories of a clone at the docks.

It had just found a larger group of those strange object wielding people unloading containers when it was spotted and dispelled. The other clones nearby attacked moments later and discovered what the objects the people held did. Two clones dispelling after killing seven let him and the other clones know not to let the opening of the objects be point at him. When the next clone finally dispelled, it was to let him know that the twenty nine others and the few witnesses had been taken care of. The containers and vehicles the people were using had crates full of the strange weapons, various sizes of pointed brass tubes, and drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. The last two clones there would seal everything they could into a Storage Scroll he gave them before stashing it for him to pick up later.

It was as his thoughts returned to the moment that the door was opened by a teen he hadn't seen with Colin earlier. The teen had short black hair and had a nondescript physical appearance.

"*You Kyuubi?*" the teen questioned after he stared at him for a few seconds half hidden by the door frame.

Now while Naruto had a very limited understanding of the english language, the words he had heard the most often from the teens was used as mutters between themselves after he asked a long question before they pieced together their responses, he could recognize both the curiosity in the question and his name. So he nodded his head and waited to see what the teen would do.

"*Alright then*," the teen said as he opened the door and motioned him to enter before closing the door behind him. "*Follow me.*"

When the teen took the lead down a flight of stairs, Naruto noticed the object in his hand. It looked like a shortened version of the pump operated weapon one of the people at the dock had used. The teen, as if sensing the stare, started talking in the strange language again. Might as well pay attention to what he says so he could find out later.

"*The building owner is a strange guy.*" he paused at the first door, turned and looked at him. "*Doesn't do anything outright illegal, just doesn't like involving the cops. The building's at the corner of four different gangs territories that want to use the place. He's managed to keep them out so far, but as you probably seen down below, the bastards shot the place up a few times. Just asks that some of the people living here be willing to keep a gun in there apartment for him and everyone to keep quiet about it. A few of us even help keep the building safe when he's gone.*"

The teen turned, opened the door and walked through motioning for him to follow. The few people in the hallway didn't pay any attention to them as they past by them. The one that did was handed the weapon from his guide before he went to the stairs.

"*Anyways, the guy took off today so you'll be able to stay here for a few days without more than a glance thrown your way.*" He said as he came to a door and unlocked it. What was said next caught Naruto's attention because of the name he recognizes and the slight annoyance the teen holds as he ushered him inside. "*By the way, my name's Jersey. Jersey Morelli. Colin came over earlier. Said something about it being hard to understand you because you speak a combination of Asian languages.*"

Coming into a dining room, there was some things on the table set up in front of a chair. The teen directed him to sit in the chair before handing him one of the books while he started typing on a foldable machine.

"*These should help you learn english if you can find the right books. If not use this pad to write something down and it will appear on the screen.*" Different symbols started appearing on the two screens in lines as Jersey talked, typed and connected a pad and pen to the keyboard part of the machine. "*Click on one to hear what it says in both what ever languages and english. Click with the other button to highlight the section and the name of the languages will appear beside it. While you are doing this, I am going to finish fixing my computers. Call me if you need anything.*"

It was then that he moved the pointer on the screen with another device to a line to click on one before a voice started talking. As Jersey left the room, Naruto studied the two screens scrolling lines. Most of the symbols resembled the writing he seen above the building's around the city, some he didn't recognize while some kanji and other script looked like what he used to write with and in seals. Looking between the two screens, Naruto found one combination that he could understand. Clicking on it like it said, the voice read the words before switching to the strange language Jersey used.

Smiling, he followed the rest of the instructions before finding the matching to-English books and started reading. He couldn't believe his luck. Find a random group of such helpful teens. He had to find a different way to repay them. Maybe the way was with what Jersey said to explain the weapon he was carrying at the door.

With that thought in mind, Naruto spent the rest of the night reading.

* * *

The next few days Naruto spends walking around while sending out clones to get familiar with the city. Gotham was somewhat nice during the day, not alot going on, but at night the city became alive with various activities going on. But he didn't really pay any attention to it, instead just going around getting use to having so many people within his sensory range as he walked throughout the various neighbourhoods. While the civilians had extremely low chakra levels, having enough of them in range was a severe strain on his senses.

He had a little time to think about his situation, but hadn't been able to find anything that could help him remember his past. He did remember something important though. He had been a high enough ranking shinobi that even the diehards of the various villages had been willing to work together to fight when he had been labelled a rouge shinobi. With that in mind, he had put a scratch through the leaf symbol on his headband and mask to signify his status. He had also managed to learn enough english that it didn't take a more than a few minutes translating the more difficult things he had to say to the teens.

It was the second night at Jersey's that he realized how to repay him for helping him get started on learning the language. He had been woken by repeated bangs that night from the bottom floor. Looking out the window, he had seen two groups of people taking cover behind some cars shooting at the building. The fight last a few minutes longer before the attackers finally retreated. No one from the building was hurt while five had to be carried away from the attackers group. That must have been one of the reasons the building was called The Fortress. After that, he had understood the reason Jersey had been armed when he opened the door, he had started attacking those gangs hideouts the next day.

He didn't just attack those gangs, he attacked all the gangs between The Fortress and the docks too. A few of the groups he attacked had talked of how the Demon was going to be coming after him now. His response of having fought and won against demons came naturally to him before he finished them off. It did leave him curious if someone would be able to find and follow the right him because of the attacks.

Because of the locations the gangs stay at, he was limited to using the tools he had. While he was good with a jian, as it wasn't a weapon he trained with extensively, he was more than able to use it to make short work of most people with the basics. So for now he would have to make do with the sword he had gotten of a fallen shinobi. He doubted he could find someone that could make swords the way he needed around Gotham anyways.

The teens had also proven even more helpful then he had ever thought possible. Several knew how to use the weapons he had collected from those he killed. The more skilled weapon users had taken to following him on a few of his assaults on the gangs that week after teaching him to use the two guns that was in the duster's pockets. He was told the one with the slide was a pistol called the S&W 1911 E-Series and the other one was a S&W Model 625 revolver that used the same ammo as the pistol. Learning to use the two guns helped him figure out the limits of the other firearms without getting shot at.

His would limit the amount of times he takes them with him for now so he could focus on keeping his taijutsu skills sharp in case the hunter-nins found him. He might have had to go without using jutsu for now, but given no one had even heard of Konoha or the other shinobi villages, he doubted he would have problems on that front. And based off the seemingly worldwide information network freely accessible, he didn't have too many opponents to worry about without his added skills.

A guy dressed as a clown had interrupted one of his assaults one night though. He had impressive pain tolerance and fighting skill. Dangerous with his deceptively unskilled moves and tricks. Laughed as Naruto pinned him to a wall with the jian and offered him three simple, well paying jobs. All he had to do was put something in some doctors office the next day as the first job. Hazy memories from his ANBU training got him to agree. He needed the money anyways and taking missions was one way to make it. He did it and got paid before being told to find him in a few days for the next job.

Even ran into a Hero after one assault. She had managed to sneak up on him as he was exiting the factory that gang had set up shop in. The short fight that had followed left her with a clean dislocation of the shoulder and elbow before he knocked her out. Because she was more skilled than most of the people he had fought before, he had left her somewhere out of sight to recover.

Starting tonight and over the next few days, the teens would show him the various vehicles and different security systems they could get through They would also try to find him a vehicle to keep for himself.

And while he was doing that, a few clones would be out continuing what the news had started calling the Gangland Massacre.

* * *

**(Week Two)**

The call of shots fired and a explosion from near the docks was nothing new. What was new about it? It was one of the Penguins suspected shops that the call had come from. That being the case, he was called to go to the scene as the sun was rising.

Checking his daughter's room before he left, he found she was still gone. Chuckling as he walked away thinking about his teenage years, he figured(correctly but not for the reasons he thought) that she had stayed with Grayson. He had returned to Gotham a few weeks ago after spending a couple years away. She thought she was being secretive about her flings with the boy, but as he had already given her the talk and trusted her enough not to embarrass her, he didn't say anything to her about it because of all the thought she put into her alibis. Besides, if Wayne didn't mind her staying at his place some nights then he at least knew she was somewhere safe. Leaving the apartment without his coffee after writing a note for his daughter if she came home that said he was called in for work and not to make him anything to eat depended on time, he drove to the scene.

When he arrived at the supposedly abandoned two story building, the street was already blocked off and a SWAT van was pulling away. Locking the door to his car, he walked up to the barrier and flashed his badge to the patrol officer that walked up to him.

"Commissioner Gordon," the officer greeted him as he raised the barrier for him. "Officer Cole Phelps. I was first on the scene with my partner Ralph Dunn."

Nodding as the officer lead him to the building, he asked "What happened here Officer?"

"We were responding to reports of prowlers in the neighbourhood," Phelps answered. "Found nothing in the area. Was just going to return to our route when a explosion and gun fire started from the building. Called it in before just it stopped and something orange took off from the roof. Looks like a slaughterhouse in there Commissioner. Detective Montoya has control of the scene now."

"Good work Officer," Commissioner Gordon said as Phelps returned to the barrier. Stopping beside Montoya, he looked up at the building. "Detective, what do we got?"

"Well we can now confirm it's tied to the Penguin somehow," she began as they walked to the door. "Everybody in there we could easily identify worked at his club at some point. Any weapons that was here before is long gone now."

"Easily identify?" he asked. He already had an idea of were this was going. He was just hoping it wasn't tied to the other sites. But it had been a long enough time since something major happened in the city.

"As SWAT cleared the place they did a 'head count'." Montoya said the last part of the sentence with imitated humour as she stopped with her hand on the door handle. "Twenty heads to twenty four bodies. The same throwing weapons from the other sites was found here as well, only it seems like he had help this time. There was one survivor. He was taken to Gotham General not long ago. Looked bad."

The smell of blood inside was overwhelming. Unlike the other scenes, he could smell faint traces of cordite mixed with the blood. Few people in the city could take on that many without leaving the overpowering smell, and fewer still could do it seemingly unarmed. But those that could do it in the city made it a habit of not killing anyone.

"The Sergeant leading the SWAT Team said that it looked like they were just shooting wildly," Montoya continued as they stepped into the empty lobby. On the floor near the doors, blood had streamed out and enveloped bullet casings from what looked like someone shooting into the rooms. "Most of the bodies found whole were shot. A few burnt pieces of paper were found one the four corners of the building of each wall. Mainly collecting the evidence and removing the bodies now Commissioner. I'll leave you to look around."

Walking through the scene, he looked over the bodies still there and the bullet casing on the ground. As Montoya had said, most of the whole bodies had been shot. He would say from a heavy pistol calibre. Maybe two different weapons, a .45 pistol and revolver based on the wounds and different spread of bullet casings on the floor. The cut up ones looked like a chainsaw had been taken to them.

He did recognized a few faces. They were some of the low level thugs Penguin liked to keep around. One body missing the head had a tattoo he had seen before. If he remembered right, the person called himself Loose Lips. Use to run weapons for the Penguins before he stopped. Couldn't never find out why he did, but now it looks like he'll never really know. Opening a door that had been closed, he entered a room full of dead noncombatants with what looked like clean kill wounds from a sword.

"Don't you go to sleep at this time?" he asked the darkest corner when he felt like he was being watched.

"The handy work of someone new in town," Batman ignored his question as he stepped into the light looking at the bodies. "Robin had a encounter with someone last week. Wasn't sure if it was the same person until someone had talked to the survivor. Tore through everyone mostly with a sword and kunai before the survivor got hit and played dead. He just entered and started killing. This guy's dangerous."

"Anything we need to know?" While he didn't generally like heroes or vigilantes because of the damage they caused, Batman had a certain style of work that he supports. If places are destroyed while he's involved, he would include references to obscure insurance laws that covered most of the damages in the reports he sent in with the criminals unlike with other heroes or vigilantes from what he heard from those cities Commissioner's. So if Batman had something to say, Gordon would make time to listen.

"You'll know as much as I do now." was the only answer he got.

"Then lets go grab a coffee as you tell..." turning around to look at him, Gordon found nothing but a memory stick hanging on a hook where Batman had been standing. Slightly irritated from lack of caffeine, he thought, 'Antisocial bastard.'

* * *

In a neighbourhood across the docks, another building was being assaulted. The rattle of fire from the two sides drowned out the occasional destruction of a clone and the replacements made. The occupants of the building had originally outnumbered the attacker's 5:1 when they started ten minutes ago. They had been pushed back to two of the heavily reenforced room. But now they had only double their attacker's number and were running out of clips fast while the attacker's, with just their heavy armour and weapons visible, had a seemingly endless supply appear in their hands from smoke. Add in the orange blur that was moving from room to room pushing the people and their already flayed nerves were at their limit. Suddenly both sides stopped firing at around the same time.

**"..he fifth site found this week."** a woman's voice came over the speakers of a broken TV in the eerie silence. **"Commissioner Gordon, do you have anything to say about this building having suspected ties to organized crime like the ones found la..."**

A sudden explosion caused two attacker's wielding machine guns to start firing again and drowning out what was said next. The walls of the rooms the occupants were in was bypassed easily by the few hundred bullets remaining in the backpack ammo feeder they were wearing. Once they ran out of ammo, the guns and feeder disappeared in a cloud of smoke, they charged into the room with eight other people after they switched to assault carbines.

The next time the building fell silent, the occupants that fought had been killed while the ones that didn't would be left in a room for the one Colin and his friends called Kyuubi to take care of. The lookouts had said that they didn't hear any sirens yet when they left, but they still had to clear up anything valuable from the building and tie up the loose ends fast. While they didn't mind helping out in the assaults, they had a slight hesitance to kill any witnesses. Kyuubi had said he wanted to leave as little evidence of himself as possible, so he'd take care of them.

"Get the stuff sealed quickly." Kyuubi ordered as he move to the door the people that seen him had been put into. "Once I'm done in here, we're leaving."

Following the orders, they moved around the building sealing the weapons, drugs, and money into the scrolls he had given them earlier. A few minutes later, when they were still sealing away everything they could, Kyuubi exited the room and started walking to the middle of the central room.

Eight clones of him appeared in a plume of smoke. The whole gang had gotten use to seeing that trick, so the nine of them just walked up to one and gripped its shoulder. What happened next was nauseating for them. The world seemed to upend several times before everything settles downs. Colin, his eyes having been closed, hears two of the group heaving. Taking deep breathes to calm his stomach, opens his eyes and takes in the surroundings.

The room they where in looked like the one in the building they hung out in by the docks. Looking outside the window showed he was right. Turning back to Kyuubi as the clones dispelled, Colin was about to start talking when he was cut off.

"You guys did good today," Kyuubi said. "All of you know what you're doing, so you should be able to do a few places by yourselves now. Boss wants to start going with the second group tonight. Tell them to meet up at one of the places left on the map. The rest he'll teach some more stuff and sealing to later on today."

The moment Kyuubi had mentioned boss, Colin had been confused until the clone finished what he said and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kyuubi must have sent a stronger clone in his place for the assault or was still finishing off the witnesses and had sent out a clone because he thought something wasn't right. Oh well, he'll find out later.

"So what do you guys think about him?" Colin asked his friends after a few minutes of sorting through the piles of things they got. It was one thing on his mind, if they wanted to continue working with Kyuubi.

"A helluva lot better than some of the people we worked with before," Samantha Byrne, one of the two females in his group and a member of his three man team, said. "Haven't felt like shooting him yet."

"He's a scary dude," Kevin Morales, his other teammate, said. "but he's a good guy."

"I like him," Tai Kaliso, a massive New Zealander who he had know for a few years, said before walking out of the room once he finished his piles to deliver the new orders.

Everyone else had the same thoughts as Tai. Kyuubi had a likeable personality even though he barely talked about himself. It had taken a few days to get use to him, but he seemed to have managed to get the trust of them. While Colin liked him, but if the others didn't, he would have had no problems setting up an ambush for Kyuubi.

He wouldn't take the risk of Kyuubi coming for them for backing out of an agreement. The rest of the groups would help him, they knew what he could do. They had also seen or heard of what Kyuubi could do so it was kind of split. Hopefully it never came to that.

* * *

After the lookouts had reported the all clear and left, Naruto had sensed a large group start moving towards the building after he had entered the room. While the amount of people in his sensory range was still making it difficult to get a good reading unless he limits it to a few meters, he could still find the above average levels they had compared to the rest. So he waited a few minutes to see where they were really going.

When they spread out to the surrounding building's, he decided to get the teens out of there. So he created a clone to do just that while he finished up and waited of the people outside. If they could redirect the response to the failed Silencing Seal tag, it was the least he could do.

Exiting the windowless room the witnesses had been put in, he moved to the middle of the larger room after several of the people had entered the building. Sometime during the fighting the speakers for the TV had been destroyed, so he could hear the faint sound of they moving in the rooms surrounding him and downstairs. Whoever they were, they had been given remarkable stealth training. But those without the basics of chakra manipulation could never completely hide their steps. It was one reason all ANBU-type shinobi were in high demand as guards by various lords.

When one of the doors opened so they could throw something out, he was already in motion because of the Killing Intent they gave off. Kicking the door off the hinges before whatever it was had hit the ground, he stepped in while listening to the background noise. As the door hit one of the two occupants in the throat before going out the window, he turned left as he grabbed the other one, who he absently noted was female like the other one, and swung her head into the doorframe as a flash and bang went off. While all ANBU masks provides some protection against flashes of light, sudden flashes from close up will always beat it.

Semi blind and deaf, he batted away two sword strikes with his metal arm guards as he backed further into the empty room. Lashing out with a kick, he was able to hear the sickening crush of bones over the ringing in his ears. Letting the leg holding him up collapse immediately after the kick landed and gripping the floor with his chakra covered hands, he fell underneath shuriken and threw him body out of the way of a followup sword strike.

Keeping his left hand connected to the ground, he twisted around fully and was able to grab her in a scissors hold with his legs as his vision started to clear. Letting the momentum continue to swing him around her, he squeezed and was rewarded with the feel of bones breaking before he released her and flew through the door.

Hitting the ground cartwheeling, he managed to go between two thrusting swords and the wielders. Continuing into back handspring flips across and into another empty room, he managed to dodge most of the shuriken aimed at him with a few stuck in his cloak. They had excellent combat training on top of the stealth training it seemed. Reaching into the pouches on his legs, he pulled out a kunai with a concussion tag on it and a hand full of shuriken while he waited for them to move for the door.

Adding a little wind chakra to the weapons, he threw the kunai through the first one to the door while putting the shuriken through the walls. Charging out with the detonation of the tag, he notice all the attacker's were female and was hit by flashes of memories that overtook him. Usually such a thing put one at a disadvantage, but his body was still somewhat in the moment and his ANBU training tried to take over.

The scenes Naruto seen changed intermittently with a forest setting and the building. He would see his punch be dodged by a woman in the forest before it changed to the building and an attacker would be flying backwards from a hit. He would dodge a strike in the forest before it was the building again and he had put himself into the path of shuriken he had to deal with. He also had to stop himself from launching an A-rank wind jutsu or else the neighbourhood would have been moved.

By the time the flashes stopped, all the attacker's had been dead for a few minutes and he had been fighting a ghost. His heart was pounding so loud, it drowned out all sound. Compartmentalizing what had just happened for later, he went to each body quickly taking the shuriken they had as his supply was getting low. He had to leave right away. They can only keep attention away from the place from so long before someone comes to investigate what happened.

Moving out of the building, he set off to the next next job Joker gave him. He was to leave a test tube at police headquarters.

* * *

His presence in the city had an effect on crime. The area the teens generally stayed had been the most effected. When he made his presence known to the Heroes that had been near the locations that week, they had tried to confront him because they disagreed with his methods, so he ran from them. And as he ran, he noticed that they were skilled, maybe chunin or jonin level without chakra augmentations of the body. And while some of the methods they were using to keep up with him had been impressive, when he started to get serious about getting away from them they proved to be limited to mid genin speed. A few he even fought to get a grasp of their overall fighting levels.

He had also learned what some of the gadgets he had taken out of the bodysuit did. The line launcher proved the most fun to make use of when he lost the Heroes before he gave it to one of the teens.

His memories were still forgotten under a heavy haze. The few flashes he had got didn't contain any information to help him remember his past, but it did give him an idea of his combat skills. Another thing he had noticed was that his chakra reserves were filling slowly. They were now at high chunin strength instead of the low chunin strength from his brief capture. Whatever happened with Sasuke, a name that enrages him when he thinks of him, must have really messed up his chakra coils.

His musings where cut off when two vehicles came speeding in through the front warehouse door. Out of both came twelve men with weapons, carrying five bags, being lead by a man with a puppet.

Only having time to grab one of his equipment pouches and mask before they entered, he decided to grab the bags before abandoning his hideout. So he waited for them to either go into the office or spread out before he started picking them off. He started by going for the four right off the office hallway. He dropped on one of them and drove his jian down though his chest. Throwing shuriken at the other three aiming for the heart, neck, and the head of each one, he caught them before they could crash into the ground.

Next he moved on to find the five others already spread out patrolling the interior of the warehouse, so he moved into the rafters to get a view on them. He dropped behind two that were close together by an entrance when he found them, snapping their necks and killing them without the others noticing. The other three were a little spread out, so he used his shuriken to take them out.

Moving back to the office, he created five clones and sent two of them to the window on the outside. Waiting a minute before ordering one clone to kick down the door and dispel. A second clone was thrown into the room as the first one popped to see two men carrying weapons on the left while the man with the puppet and the third man by the window that were looking through the bags. Popping as soon as he seen them, signalling the two outside to enter, while also providing a smokescreen.

Naruto, as soon as the second clone had dispelled, was launched into the room by the third clone at the man closest to the door. Using his momentum, he drove his elbow into the ribcage of him and was rewarded with the caving of bone. Spinning to face the second man as the first dropped to the floor while pulling out two kunai to throw them into the man's kidney and liver as the smoke cleared. Looking at the last two clones to see one laying down a guard and the other moving to stop the bleeding from the puppeteer's missing forearm.

Walking to the puppeteer and picking him up after the clone stopped the bleeding, he carried him outside while sending his three remaining clones to get his stuff and the bags. Binding the puppeteer as he exited the warehouse, he put down the puppeteer outside.

As he stood waiting for his clones outside, one had returned with the supply scroll and orange cloak, which he put on. The sound of sirens in the distance drew his attention. Knowing it was the the police and not wanting to get involved, he turned and jumped for the rooftops and ran from the scene with his clones before the police could pull in.

Staring back at the scene, Naruto could see Huntress, the Hero he had run into a week ago, entering the the warehouse from the back, while the police had gone for the puppeteer in front. Maybe it was time to go underground and get Colin and his friends properly organized into his network around the city. But first he had to do something about the people tailing him.

* * *

** (Week Three)**

The past few weeks had been interesting for him and his friends. After Kyuubi been in a few times to learn about some weapons and drugs he brought in and where he could sell them. Then going out with him and breaking into cars to show Kyuubi how to hotwire and drive them. They would strip down the vehicle quickly to show him what parts cost what and had more importance to the dealers that would buy them. When it came to teaching him about the guns and when they followed him in a few of his assaults, then when they went out and sold the drugs on the street or to other dealers had some of the group seeing him as the leader.

After the third day in the second week, Kyuubi started to teach them some skills for information gathering showing them how to gather more dangerous, hard to get information. The information gathering skills Kyuubi had been teaching them lead to a small cult like following around him from some as they learned from him. Colin and his close friends in the group liked him because of the way he handles business. But they kept their eyes on him just in case.

The amount of what could only be described as massacres that happened in their part of the city caused crime rates to lower. With the cops and Batman focused on finding Kyuubi because he left just enough evidence to point at him, they were able to establish control over the the emptied territories and set up a safer environment for the people while taking over the businesses left open by the former gangs. Some of those former gang members and other people joined up with them shortly after so they had enough people to hold it.

So when Kyuubi appeared in blue flames on the roof, it drew the attention of everybody in the building to follow him to the largest room, which happened to be the room in the basement most of them first seen him. Dressed in his orange hooded cloak that reached to his ankles, a white smirking fox mask with a red wavy design coming from the right cheek to curve up over his nose and a second streak going up from his chin, over his mouth and ending over his nose covered his face. His right arm came out of the cloak to reveal that it was covered with a dark metal armour, and that he was wearing Interceptor body armour over the Nightwing suit. Out of Kyuubi's hand, a scroll came flying towards him.

Fumbling around with it for a few seconds after it bounced off his chest, he opened it to reveal that it was a Storage Scroll. Rolling it back up and putting it in his pocket, Colin pulled out a second scroll to pass over to Kyuubi that contained some money and the latest news on the street gangs.

Today's meeting was probably about what was in the scroll that was passed to him, so it was no surprise when Kyuubi motioned for him to open and unseal the scroll. Several handguns, knives, and a small pile of other types of guns were in the smaller seals on the scroll. In the bigger ones were two duffel bags of more drugs and one full of weapons and clips. Finally was five bags full of money.

As everyone moved into their groups of either street dealers, suppliers for other gangs of either guns or drugs, and the information gathers, Kyuubi started to explain that he would be clearing out all the more hostile gangs they been supplying him information on before he stopped. He said that they had enough information to get suppliers and that they could also move supply's for others around the city for more cash. Once the gangs were taken care of, Kyuubi wanted to start taking personal contracts out of the city while they got themselves settled into Gotham's gangs.

When asked what they should call themselves, Kyuubi responded with The Whirling Tide and showed them a spiral design to use as markings when asked. They would have free rein to do what they wanted as long as they didn't speak of his involvement or what they did to anyone not a member of the gang. A weird seal he was teaching to some of them that was applied to the tongue would help with that. He was also going to get the seals after Colin and a few of the others mentioned the control functions built into them. Colin found something strange with that but kept it to himself for now.

As the meeting ended Kyuubi started walking for the roof while everyone else followed Colin, who moved for the doors. They had stuff to do.

* * *

Naruto woke in a frenzy to reach his armour and equipment and threw them on quickly as he heard the nine he was staying with move around getting ready too. It had been a few days since the meeting that The Whirling Tide officially formed and thing had been going good. Colin, who had he put in charge of the gang and what they started calling the Assault Groups, had managed to get everything organized properly without him. Several new hideouts had been set up within the territories they controlled. The one he was currently in was on Park Row, or better know as Crime Alley to the locals.

A few dozen signatures had managed to slip into the perimeter of the hideout before being detected by a security seal, so he was getting prepared to abandon the place for one of the other ones he had in mind with the group with him.

"Carmine," he called out to the other room. "Get your group out of here. I'll take care of this and meet up with you later."

Carmine didn't bother answering, instead ordering his group out the door and away. The next few minutes pass with him sealing the supplies he left out back into scrolls as he hears Carmine's group fighting their way out.

Before a flash of light blinded him, the sound of the windows shattering and the door of the room bursting open reached his ears, alerting him of the incoming attackers.

Blinking away the after images as he spun around to punch the closest one to him in the chest with his left while drawing his sword. Crushing the ribcage of the attacker, he jumped, performing a back flip with his head going under a high jump kick from behind and just over the three swords aimed at where his chest had been, and a low swipe kick to his legs.

Having drawn his jian before the flip, he used the momentum to bring his knee into the face of the one behind him while lashing out at the three sword users. After cutting through three arms and the third in the throat while he landed the knee strike, he proceed to jump out the window and landed in an alley as another attack came. He disposed of the attacker with a kunai-shuriken combo as she came out the window.

Five seconds later the alley was blocked off by a few dozen more women with most wearing black, backless, sleeveless shirts that went up into a half mask to cover their mouth and pants. All were armed with a sword or other type of close quarters weapons and shuriken. Nothing too bad, based off a few memories he had of similar situations. A woman without the half mask and was wearing a leather jacket and pants caught his eye. She was standing farther back with a slight smirk, so he figured she was in charge.

A thought comes to him, one that would probably infuriate her and her guards while providing him with an excellent opportunity to test his purely physical skills and close combat sensory abilities. The alley was narrow enough that he could comfortably lead the fight with his sword that way. But first to make it easier to move. He could also hear the gunfire of Carmine's group from further out meaning they were still fighting.

All of the women seemed to tense as he shifts his legs into a neutral stance while raising his hands to remove his cloak, followed by the Interceptor Body Armour. His left hand disappears into his back middle pouch to pull out a book written in Japanese, being one of the few languages written the closest to his own that he could read.

The tense atmosphere lightens marginally as they see the book. The woman's smirk, dropped when she had seen Nightwing's armour, returns at the sight of the book getting a chuckle from him. With a simple motion, she ordered the attack.

The book, used to give off false openings while the narrowness of the alley ensured that they couldn't all attack at once, was used to make sure the next few minutes were probably embarrassing for the woman and somewhat enlightening for him. Only three of her assassin's had been able to consistently hit him with more than glancing blows while he read. Sure the others were skilled with their weapons, but they were moving between low and high genin at combat speed while some had chunin level reflexes.

Weaving around their strikes or counterattacking them all without raising his head from the book with an air of nonchalance, he enjoyed the feelings of anger coming off their leader. One of them had fought mostly bare handed, about 18 years old with black hair and dressed the same as the rest of the assassin's, and was able dodge or counterattack his slower, less lethal attacks. Two more had to rely on each other to last as long as they did, since the other assassin's were laying on the ground dead. With only those three still somewhat able to keep fighting, he figured it was time to end it.

Putting the book away as he lazily flicked his wrist counterclockwise to deflect a pair of sai from a girl wearing a dark green kimono and white cat mask into a wall. Turning ninety degrees and bending forward slightly to dodge a followup sword strike from her partner wear a burnt orange and black armour costume and feline mask. Reaching with his left hand, he grabbed her elbow and threw her into partner hard before turning to the unarmed girl who attacked him from behind.

Bringing his sword arm up to block a roundhouse kick, he staggered back with the blow. Twisting after the followup punch then trying to sever the arm. She deflected the sword with her other arm and managed to move her arm slightly enough to keep it before his left fist slammed into her exposed kidneys.

He spun around as the girl fell to the ground and was now standing face to face with the boss, his sword pointed at her throat while he stood in a lazy posture. It took took alot to control his breathing with his heart racing and all the adrenaline pumping through his veins. It was worth it to see the look that was on her face throughout the whole fight. She was now glaring slightly while she spoke to him around the sword. From her tone, he figured she was someone important. The assassin's she made a point of saying were hers had pretty much proved it.

He took in what she was saying, but tuned her out to sense for Carmine's group. They seemed to still be fighting, but they were alot further away. A signature he recognized as belonging to a Hero was also closing in on them, so he decided to abandon his little talk. Stepping forward a half step while twirling the jian to hit her on the side of the head with the flat of the sword, he turned around and left.

Running in the direction of Carmine's group while the three assassin's moved to cover their boss as she pulled out a phone, he made a clone to draw the Heroes attention to it and lead her to a private hideout. He figured now was a good time to start putting sleepers in place and she would make a good start.

* * *

Screams of pain and a quiet voice was the first thing that came to her attention. The sound of the person's voice was rough, but clearly female while the other was male. Then her vision returned and she saw what was happening.

A blonde man in a black bodysuit with his back to her was standing over the woman screaming with three glowing fingers currently pressed to her forehead drawing a design. The woman she noticed, like her, was naked. The first fingertip was green that removed the skin, muscle and blood to reveal the bone. The second was blue that traced along the bone leaving a black mark behind. The last was green that left healed black skin in it's wake. The woman's body was covered in a complex network of symbols that seem interconnected.

After a few seconds, she remembered what had happened. The sound of heavy gunfire had drawn her attention that night. She had followed the sounds until she came upon a man's heavily armed and armoured body followed by a woman's armoured form. She found a few more bodies, mainly women, before the shooting had stopped. When she was getting closer to where the sound last was, the bastard with the white fox mask had attacked her. Since he was the more dangerous threat compared to the gunfire based on what Batman had been willing to say to her, she had moved to follow. He had led her to the edge of the city and into a abandoned building where it got fuzzy.

One final bloodcurdling scream brought her attention back to see the man's blue glowing hand pressed into the woman's stomach. The black lines had started to glow blue brightly as the scream intensified before the lines faded entirely and the woman stopped screaming and started whimpering quietly. When he turned to face her, she was momentary struck by his face.

His face had an animalistic quality to it that the marks on his cheeks, glacial blue eyes and hair seem intensified. His long golden blonde hair was spiky and held in a loose ponytail with the headband he wore. The scratched symbol on the metal plate looked familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place where. A strong sense of fear and, not that she would admit it, arousal coursed through her as he moved towards her. The fear increased when she noticed that he was wearing Nightwing's bodysuit and the white mask hanging from his hip. It was then that she remembered where she had seen the symbol before.

As he walked past her, she followed his movements to a table where he took two small bottles off a strange glove he was wearing and grabbed two new ones before moving to her. The two new bottles went onto the glove as she noticed the woman had gotten dressed and left the room as he had stopped in front of her. As his middle finger lit with a blue glow, black liquid started dripping from it before the two surrounding fingers lit green. She started struggling as the hand closed with her bare stomach. When the hand touched her, the pain was indescribable and her struggling grew harder.

A gentle voice started whispering into her ear sometime during the process. The gentle tone she had latched onto and it had stayed with her until it was done. The voice would stay with her after the memories of the event faded. In her dreams and nightmares for the months to come.

* * *

**(Week Four)**

** (Location - Unknown)**

When she first started getting reports that a few gang hideouts, each holding about ten to thirty people at the time, in Gotham had been taken out in the span of a week, she had initially put it off as having to do with the mob. Then one of the reports had included a note that Batgirl and Robin had been missing for a time. Putting the event to the back of her mind, she had decided to continue with her business until she got more information.

At the start of the second week of Gotham's so called 'Gangland Massacre', when the reports included that the Black Mask and the Penguin had each started a low level investigation into the cause since some of their men had also been hit, she had noticed that some of Talia's assassin's had been dispatched to the city. She had put that down as having to do with her so far unstated infatuation with Wayne until the reports a few days later said that most of those assassin's had been killed immediately after they engaged their target. The reports from Gotham got a slight increase in priority for delivery after that.

Then one of her contacts from the Order of Assassin's sent reports she got detailing that large groups had been visited by their target, now identified as being one man, and started meeting with him to follow during his attacks. Her own Gotham contacts said that the groups were mainly made up of teens, with a few older people thrown in, had taken to calling themselves The Whirling Tide, and other then helping the man in his assaults, were doing small time crime. One nine man group had even been caught up in an attack the Order had made on the man and been eliminated, but not without taking down twice their own numbers in assassin's. Impressive since the assassin's were trained to be able to handle larger groups then that in smaller teams then what they operated with at the time. Of course that had the effect of the the man searching out and destroying the assassin's within the city over the next few days with disturbing accuracy.

The amount of assassin's that survived his reprisals went from one or two having non life threatening injuries every engagement or two, to only one surviving during that time. The report was fuzzy on the details, but it was confirmed that she had delivered a message saying to stay away from his support. The survivor then proceeded to attack her rescuers before she could be killed. A few of the higher ranking members of the Order had also went missing during that time as well. The Order stopped all attacks after that.

By the time she decided to focus her attention on him, the support groups he used had started making the majority of the kills. Evidence of his involvement was still able to be found at some sites, but what stood out was that the few survivors had started to say only three people had done it. Every few days one survivor would describe someone similar to the man and say that he started killing everyone while three people followed him. The sites he couldn't be tied with showed what could only be described as war zones and had left the police stumped because the people in the surrounding buildings never heard a shot until an explosion sounded. Eventually she was unable to find evidence of the man's involvement in anymore of the killings, instead only the support teams he had.

That ended most of her interest in the matter. The Whirling Tide might have been good, but they relied on firearms more that anything. The only interesting thing about them was that none of them died since the Order's attack and their numbers increased.

Talia had then surprised her earlier that day by getting in contact with her because of a new recruit she had gotten. Talia didn't know the full capabilities of the person and was unable and unwilling to find out with her assassin's fighting the man, so she wanted someone more skilled then most of who she had in her employ to test the man. It had taken little effort to find out it was the man who had been causing her problems in Gotham after that little bit of information. What information Talia had sent on the man was barely more then she had already known from her Order contacts, it did give her more to work with though.

Now all she had to do was wait for Talia to give her a location of where to go. Until then, she would find a few of the most skilled of her followers to train with and take with her to use to gauge the man's skill.

* * *

**(Gotham City)**

The next week and a half past quickly for Naruto. Busting up small gangs and taking any weapons, drugs, and money they had proved boring after awhile. He had time to go over everything he remembered and found that than running, fight and something happening with someone named Sasuke that caused his chakra reserves and memories to be effected was all he really remembered. He figured that the memories would return in time with that his ANBU training being something he remembered as proof.

But no more time for that now. Tonight would be Jokers last job for him and all he had to do was call 911 at a certain time and give a message. He had also decided to take that Talia woman up on her offer to work for her so that The Whirling Tide wouldn't be attacked. The exploding human message he sent her might have been clear to leave them alone, but, like with the Joker, he would work for her for the right price.

She wants him to enter Arkham and retrieve a body. The job would see if he had what it takes to complete more work for them because Arkham had a tight enough security to keep most people from getting in or out. He would do it and might even be able to widen his Network around the world if he works for her.

So with that thought in mind, he made his way to Arkham Asylum as he hung up the phone with the police.

* * *

**AN: 12 573 words from ****Chapter Two**** till the end compared to the others 4 958. Wasn't expecting that. Any way the next chapter will be out, hopefully, in a few weeks. **

** If you can guess the named people without google and which movie character the land lord of The Fortress is based off of, you get a cookie. Hint for the land lord, he's based of a 1980's film series where the main character wields powerful hand cannons.**

** About the Gears of War characters, I had played through the games recently and had the thought that with minor adjustments most of the characters could be used. What do you think.**

** The thing about ANBU Combat Assassin's in the last chapter and ANBU being used as guards is part of my thoughts for Kakashi's Chidori. As a combat assassin and guard during his ANBU years, the way it would be used in a ambush attack on a opponent or assassin, the distinctive sound would both distract the person or warn the client of danger. Kakashi did say to Sasuke that it was hard to use as a normal attack without the Sharingan and that he mainly used it to protect. It would fit.**

** Looking for a BETA to do a final read through to for spelling errors and any of mistakes. It would also be helpful the the BETA can help with writing the dialogue. PM me if interested.**

** Please leave a review with your thoughts.**


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